8.5 | / 10 |
Users | 3.1 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Ho, ho, heyooo! Christmas is upon us and the Paddy's gang has got the spirit. Well, not really. For them, the holidays have always been a time of trickery, backstabbing, and disappointment. But this year things are going to be different as they are determined to rediscover the joy in Christmas. Join Mac, Charlie, Dennis, Dee and Frank as they embark on a holiday adventure filled with stolen toys, childhood videos, naked elves, and a bloody run in with Santa Claus that is guaranteed to blast Christmas spirit all over you!
Starring: Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton, Charlie Day, Kaitlin Olson, Danny DeVitoComedy | 100% |
Dark humor | 81% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p (upconverted)
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English, French, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 1.5 | |
Audio | 2.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Okay, full disclosure. Before today, I’d never seen an episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to; I’ve just never gotten around to it. What I know of the series has been passed down from the wild raving of several friends, who have repeatedly told me it’s “like Seinfeld on crack”—I later learn this is the show’s tagline—and that “it’s almost as good as Arrested Development.” As an unrepentant Arrested Development apostle—I’m out to convert the uninitiated—these comparisons have always left me wary. Mitchell Hurwitz' tragically short-lived series is, in my mind, not only one of the best comedies to ever grace a TV screen, but one of the best shows of any genre. So, when I booted up this disc, I was open- minded but prepared to be underwhelmed. The disappointment set in early, but not for the reasons you might think.
The Gang
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia makes a truly disappointing first appearance on Blu-ray, with an AVC-encoded transfer that's 1080p in name only. In reality, the standard definition video source material has been upscaled, and actually looks a lot worse than many of my DVDs when I allow my PS3 to do the up-converting for me. I wish I had the DVD of A Very Sunny Christmas on hand to do a side-by-side comparison, but I can't imagine that this Blu-ray iteration looks much better. The image is incredibly soft. Lines are indistinct and unresolved, textures are muddled, and fine detail is non-existent. While there are a few bright, Christmas-y colors, the image is drab, lacks depth, and is prone to a bland haziness. Black levels are soupy and grayish, white highlights are frequently blown out, and contrast is flat and lifeless. Worse yet, artifacts and noise clutter the frame throughout, shadows are susceptible to macroblocking, and both aliasing and ringing are readily apparent. Even for DVD-quality material, this looks quite bad.
You would hope, then, that A Very Sunny Christmas would at least take advantage of Blu- ray's extra storage space with a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track. While it does, this track is only marginally better than the shoddy video quality. Dialogue is clear and easily understood throughout the episode, but that's as much of a compliment as I can muster. With the sole exception of when Frank rolls up in his Lamborghini—with a throaty roar—this track is thin and shrill. There's not much low-end here at all, and the music comes off as much too harsh. And let's face it, most Christmas music is pretty tiresome on its own. The music bleeds into the rear channels, but that's as much engagement as you're going to get from the surround speakers.
Producers' Blu-ray Introduction (SD, 00:55)
Actor Rob McElhenney and Writer/Producer David Hornsby give a disclaimer about how the
program wasn't filmed in high definition and was simply scaled up for this Blu-ray
release.
Young Charlie & Young Mac - Deleted Scenes (SD, 2:48)
Here we get to see young Charlie and Mac throwing rocks, discussing how women have "a second
butt-hole in the front," and decrying the onset of puberty.
Behind the Scenes (SD, 7:24)
Director and former Kevin Arnold of The Wonder Years Fred Savage gives us a look at the
making of the claymation sequence, and we also get plenty of on-set footage and shenanigans
from the cast, who all act exactly like their characters.
Sunny Sing-A-Long (SD, 3:13)
The Gang stands around a piano and sings perennial Christmas favorites, but this quickly
descends into a yuletide nightmare, replete with cheesy 1980s video effects.
Though I certainly don't want or expect it to become the norm, I really have no problem with studios releasing standard definition content on Blu-ray, as long as they clearly—clearly— label it as such. The teeny tiny "1080p up-converted" disclaimer on the back of the case here simply doesn't cut it, and I have a feeling a lot of people are going to be disappointed by this release, especially if the retail stores where the purchases were made refuse returns on opened media. If you're a hardcore fan of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, you might want to consider picking this Christmas special up, but really, this title would be better suited for inclusion on the next DVD box-set.
Includes 4 Exclusive Paddy's Coasters.
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